Right Above It
by penelopeparish
Summary: Follow the boys of winter on their way to Lake Placid.
1. The Plan

"**Cross him off the list, that kid doesn't have a chance in hell at making this team."**

Nothing could compare to the chill he felt when he stepped foot onto the rink. The moment he realizes that you have to believe that something matters in everyone's life, and that he's found it - he's found a dream.

He sat on the bleachers among hockey players from across the country – hockey players who wafnted this too. He held his breath and waited hopefully as the man called out names.

"Verchota… Harrington…Johnson…"

With every name that was called he could feel himself losing hope. He looked around at the other hopefuls -the other boys who have overcome their own personal struggles and experienced a chain of events that brought them here just like him. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and inhaled deeply. He wasn't aware of it, but his knee was bouncing excitedly with anticipation. He sat, nervously awaiting, with his face cupped in the palms of his hands.

"Eruzione…"

He looked up, suddenly aware of the reality that just sat in. He breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but disbelieve. Had he heard right? He must have. A small smile crept onto his face. This was the beginning of an unknown.

"**You give me 99% and you'll make my job very, very easy."**

He had every intention of making this guy's job _very, very_ difficult.

* * *

"Mmm…" he inhaled. "Cami, you always smell like cake!" the hockey player said, releasing his friend from a hug.

She gave a shy smile. "Thank you. I brought some cupcakes. It's the vanilla-coconut you like!" She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and handed the boy the box. She was all smiles. The pair hadn't gotten to see each other for months, and it was a warm reunion. She examined her friend. _Dave Silk_ she thought. _My have you've grown!_ She remembered a brown –eyed boy running around the neighborhood wreaking havoc. There wasn't a time she could recall that he didn't have a dozen bruises and scratches … or combed hair!

"You're the best!" Dave exclaimed. "I knew you'd be a good cook ever since we were five and you made that _delicious_ mud pie." He couldn't help but laugh. Camilla may have grown up a lot since then, but he could still see traces of the little girl he knew years ago. She still had her mother's dark hair and Brazilian eyes, but she'd inherited fair Irish skin from her father. He could still see the little girl who smelled of coconut sunscreen and wore her hair up in bows.

She gave a mock frown. "That was some of my best work. Be glad I didn't ask you to eat it!"

"I probably wouldn't be able to say no if you gave that look you always gave your parents." He joked. "Cami, you realize you could have _made_ me eat dirt?"

"Hmm don't tempt me." She teased.

"Well…" he began with a chuckle. He knew she wasn't capable of making anyone eat dirt.

"Dave!" she exclaimed. "I forgot to ask you about hockey! Did you make it!" Her eyes grew wide as she anticipated the answer.

"I did." he said with a pretend shrug. "No big deal…"

She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. "That is so great Dave, I'm so proud! I'll make you a celebratory mud pie!"

"That's _really_ not necessary." He laughed.

* * *

The first practice was done with and everyone seemed to be in agreement that the next few months wouldn't be a cake walk. Cox sat down next to Silk and began packing his gym bag to head home.

"What on earth are you eating?" Cox asked. He looked over to see Silk eating something that smelled like it was homemade – a rarity among the usual hockey player's diet.

"A cupcake, here have one." He replied.

He accepted without hesitation – he couldn't refuse food.

"You made this?" he asked with much doubt.

"No way, my friend Camilla moved out here about a month ago. She owns a bakery, so I talk her into some food every now and again. Not bad huh?"

"It's delightful." He laughed. Cox knew Dave was friends with a Camilla but hadn't really paid much attention to the friendship. After tasting her cooking, he figured he'd be a better listener from now on.

A very angry hockey player sat down next to Cox, fuming.

"Hey I got just what you need OC, have one." Silk said, offering him a cupcake. Things had gotten pretty heated during practice. Personally, he thought OC got a pretty good hit on Mac, but it didn't help anything.

OC just scowled at Dave and looked away, clenching his fists.

"You know, he has a point." Rizzo chimed in.

"Who has a point?" OC snapped.

"Herb does -we really don't have time to settle old scores." He said softly with a sincere look.

OC shook his head and got up to leave in a hurry, slamming the door behind him.

"So…are we still on for tonight?" Dave asked awkwardly to break the tension.

"Definitely," Rizzo replied. "He'll come around too. Don't worry about it!" he said with a reassuring smile. He wanted to keep the peace. He had known OC long enough to be confident he'd come around to doing the right thing.

"Did you invite Mac?" Cox asked.

"Uh well…yeah." Rizzo said sheepishly.

"Beautiful!"

* * *

"Have a nice day!" she smiled as the last customer for the day left. She had been there since the shop opened. Even though it was her business, she invested so much time into it she hardly had need for employees. She'd moved out to Minnesota a month ago to be closer to family who had just bought a house in Falcon Heights near the campus. Growing up, she'd always felt invested to the people that walked into her life: friends, teachers, Wal-mart greeters –anyone, but particularly her family. She'd gone to college in Boston and majored in Psychology. Her plan was to become a high school counselor, but she found herself drawn to a kitchen.

"Camilla, will you give me a hand with this?" a muffled voice from the back asked.

"I'll be right there!" She replied and rushed to help Karen her petite coworker, but most importantly, her good friend. Camilla had always been reserved, so she was grateful to meet Karen. It was sort of scary being in a new city. Luckily her childhood friend, Dave, was now in Minnesota too. They went to high school together and remained near each other throughout college. She became so comfortable with Dave, they could really lean on each other.

"You gonna' drop these off tonight?" Karen asked while holding up a box of assorted cupcakes.

Camilla looked at her watch. "Yeah, I think he should be in by now. He mentioned there wasn't a team curfew, so hopefully he's not out!"

"Do you want me to come?" Karen asked eagerly. "To help carry them, you know?" she added, blushing.

"That would be lovely." Camilla replied with a knowing smile. She had shown Karen photographs of Dave and knew Karen was more than a little curious to meet him in person. Karen was a sweetie, so Camilla had no hesitance to introduce the two – it would be Dave she had to worry about. Growing up, Dave and Camilla were inseparable, with the exception of the many dates Dave went on – he was charming, perhaps too charming for his own good.

* * *

Rizzo had just taken a sip from his beer when there was a knock at the door. So far, a couple guys had already shown up. OC, surprisingly, was in good spirits. A nice game of poker was going on between some of the Minnesota guys and even OC seemed interested.

"I'll get it!" he volunteered. "Mac! How's it going? Come on in." He stepped aside and handed him a beer. He wasn't sure what would amount in the next couple of seconds, but he knew it wouldn't go smoothly. He ran a finger through his hair and took a deep breath.

"What the hell is he doing here?" OC demanded.

"Relax…" Rizzo began, placing his arms out in front of him as if to say _calm down_. He _knew_ OC could forgive Mac. They had met back in college and OC was always a tough case, but a good guy nonetheless.

"Screw this." He snapped. Without a second to waste, OC stormed out.

Rizzo let out a sigh and shook his head. "Just give him more time. Let's have some fun, alright?"

"So…" Cox began. "You have any more of those cupcakes Silky?"

* * *

"Alright, so we're looking for room 331." Cami informed her friend. "Keep your eyes peeled!" It was a colder evening, just another indication that autumn was beginning. Camilla actually preferred colder seasons with winter being her very favorite. She was an only child, so she spent her winters playing in the snow with Dave and her huskie named Bosco. They would wake up really early to build 'the most durable' fort in the neighborhood so that they would be ready for a snowball fight with the other children. She used to insist on only making a pile of snowballs so she wouldn't have to hit anybody during the game.

"Ay, ay captain!" Karen said with a giggle. Just after she had said this, a boy came storming through the door and stomped down the stairwell.

"Karen, wait here. He might know where room 331 is. Plus, he looks like he could use a cupcake." Camilla ran down the stairs to catch up with the angry man. She wasn't particularly bold, but couldn't deny a chance to make someone feel better.

"Hey!" she called out. "Wait up!" He whipped his head around to confront the yelling stranger. She was nervous, she hadn't exactly planned what to say. To make matters worse, the boy was intimidating. He wore his emotions so apparently that she could see the anger all over his face.

"Whaddya want?" he snapped. In realizing it was a girl, he calmed down – slightly.

"Uh…are you okay?" she asked shyly. She nervously twiddled her thumbs as she awaited his response. Upon looking at him further, she could see a trace of betrayal in his eyes.

He eyed the brunette stranger curiously. She had light skin that contrasted with her dark hair and eyes. She was striking, but not a conventional beauty."I've never been better." He said sarcastically.

"What's wrong?" she asked earnestly.

"Look, if you want to play 20 questions I'd rather just get going." The hockey player replied. He wasn't sure why this girl even cared, but didn't feel up for the conversation.

"I'm looking for room 331." She blurted out. Camilla hadn't meant for her words to just tumble out, but she wasn't getting anywhere with the stranger.

"Oh really? I know where _that_ is. Why are you going there?"

"To deliver these!" she explained, holding up the cupcakes. "Do you want the first pick?"

He looked at the box hesitantly. "That one." he said pointing to cupcake with red frosting. She opened the lid so he could grab it.

"So any chance you'll tell me what's wrong…and how to get to 331?" She glanced at the stairs to her left. "Here, sit!" she suggested, gesturing to the stairs.

He shook his head in disbelief and reluctantly sat down. "Have you ever just _really_ want to beat the shit out of someone?"

She shook her head.

"Right, well I was _really upset_ by this guy. Now everyone expects me to just suddenly be okay with him – and I'm not." He added. She nodded her head, urging him to continue.

"So, a hockey team is really close. They're like my brothers, but when someone you want to beat the shit out of is on your team, you just want to smack every smile off of his face."

"Well let's forget this guy for a second. What do you want to get out of being on this hockey team?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I want to win."

"So in order to win, can you do that with a grudge against this guy?"

"No."

"Well it looks to me like you're not just letting yourself down by being angry, but you're letting down the other players… who are like your brothers. Right?"

"Yeah…I just wished _my brothers_ weren't in such a hurry to take this guy's side."

"It sounds to me like they don't want to see you angry, not that they don't think you have a reason to be upset." She said with a small smile. He hadn't lifted his gaze from the concrete and she feared she wasn't getting through to him.

"And maybe it's hard to just forget what this guy did, but here are two guys who really want to win and love playing hockey. That doesn't seem _so_ bad. Right?"

"I guess…" he said with a shrug. "Well, how about I just show you where room 331 is?" he said with the slightest hint of a grin. Camilla nodded and accepted defeat.

* * *

Buzzy had just finished his second beer when there was another knock at the door.

"Were you expecting anyone else?" Cox asked. The boys looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I'll get it!" Buzzy volunteered. He opened the door to find OC and two girls he didn't recognize. "Hi?" he said with curiosity.

"Who is it?" one of the boys shouted. Camilla and Karen walked in after OC. A collective _who are they's _and _are they on the team too's_ filled the room.

"Cami!" Dave exclaimed. He engulfed her in a giant hug. "Are these for me?" he asked glancing at the box of cupcakes. He _really_ hoped they were.

"Yes! I'm not here to intrude. Just passing through to give you some cupcakes." She explained. "Oh!" she remembered. "This is Karen, she works with me!" Karen gave an excited wave and extended her hand to shake his.

"Nice to meet you!" he said with a laugh. Karen was a cute girl. She had dirty-blonde hair and green eyes with a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose and a smile that looked like she wore it often.

"It's nice to meet you too!" she chirped. "Camilla has told me all about you!" she added with a nervous giggle. She hadn't imagined Dave would look so good in person.

"Good things I hope." He replied with a charming grin.

Karen found herself nodding like a bobble head before she could let out a clear "Yes!"

"Are you here to stay?" Rizzo asked OC.

"Yeah…" OC shrugged. "I guess."

Rizzo nodded with a smile and handed his friend a beer. The girls left shortly after (reluctantly on Karen's part), and the boys managed to get along – and… even have a good time.

* * *

"Ughh." Rizzo groaned. "I wished I could say I can't feel my legs, but I definitely can and it's not a good feeling." He had been working harder than he ever imagined he could. Something about coach Herb really lit a fire under him to do his best. He plopped down on one of the benches in the locker room and began removing his gear.

The boys had just finished another practice with Herb and were really beginning to feel it.

"Yeah, yeah, the legs feed the wolf gentlemen." OC chimed in.

"So was that the Cami we heard about at university?" Rizzo asked, looking at Silk.

"Yeah, she's a doll. Even when we were kids she'd bring home little injured animals to fix up." He laughed. He smiled to himself thinking of the family of opossums she brought home once. She was so excited to show him the house she had made for them out of a shoebox.

"Tell her she can bring us food _anytime_!" Cox added.

"Yeah she's not bad looking either." OC contributed. Dave shot him a look of death. "We had a nice conversation too." He added with a smirk. Camilla was not bad to look at; she wfas just _interesting_ to look at. He even didn't plan to pursue her; he just wanted to bother Silk.

"Don't even think about it OC." Silk warned. Dave had grown up with Camilla in Massachusetts. He went through his high school years going on many dates while Camilla rarely talked to boys. He was glad, too, because he didn't think any guy was good enough for her. She was the type of girl who just wanted to give the world her best - the kind that smiled at strangers on the street and remembers everybody's name.

"Look, she's all yours!" OC teased. Dave turned bright red and shook his head.

"Alright guys, that's enough." Rizzo joined in. "Let's all just head home, get some rest, and _not_ bother Camilla."

"I'll try not to." OC replied with a grin. Dave looked at OC like he could kill him right there in the locker room.

* * *

Camilla had just gotten home from work and it had been a nice day. As a matter of fact, Camilla could probably consider every day in Minnesota a good day so far. She was glad Dave promised to stop by later, she couldn't wait to see how he's been doing! Just as she'd set her bag down and taken off her shoes, there was a knock at her door.

"Cami open up, it's freezing out here!" she heard a familiar voice shout.

"You're in the hallway!" she laughed as she opened the door to see her good friend.

"Hi bud!" he said as he took her into a hug.

"You're squishing me!" she exclaimed. Truthfully, she was used to his bear hugs by now. They sat down on the couch and he updated her about his life lately.

"I'm pretty sure the coach hates me." He added. Camilla shook her head.

"Impossible, he'd have to hate everyone before he singled out his hatred towards you!" she beamed.

"Thaaaanks Cami!" he chuckled. "How have you been? OC hasn't contacted you has he?" he asked hurriedly. He really hoped OC didn't keep his word this time around. They were good friends, him and OC, but he didn't want both friendships to crossover. Camilla gave him a confused look.

"No…" she replied suspiciously. "Is he okay?" she asked, worried. Camilla had wondered if her talk with him had helped. She hoped he was doing better and that the team was at least civil with each other now.

"Yeah he's fine!" Silk replied. "Anyways…" he said, ready to change the subject. "What's new with you?"

"Well, my parents want me to come to dinner this weekend." She said in a disappointed tone.

"Uh-oh, are they still bothering you about the boyfriend thing?" he asked. Camilla's parents constantly bombarded her with questions about her love life and would not be satisfied until she had a boyfriend.

"Yeah, they said I should bring my boyfriend." She frowned.

"And?"

"I told them I wasn't seeing anyone, but they still insisted I find one to bring!" Dave raised both of his eyebrows and pointed to himself.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"They didn't buy it!" she laughed. One time, she brought Dave to dinner as her 'boyfriend' and her parents knew, right away, it wasn't real.

"Damn."

"But I have an idea!" she grinned. "Wait here!" She ran to bedroom and came back with a stuffed penguin. "This is Cornelius. He's my boyfriend for the dinner this weekend."

"He's dreamy." Dave teased. "I approve." He reached over to shake the penguins wing. "What if I could find a real human for you to bring as your fake boyfriend?" he asked. Camilla shot him a suspicious look.

"What do you mean?" she questioned with a worried look on her face. She could see the gears turning in his head already!

"I mean I know _at least_ twenty-six guys, so one is bound to agree to it!" he replied with a giant smile. Dave began making a mental list of guys that would be perfect for the job.

"I don't know about this…" she said hesitantly.

"Just trust me!" he said with a reassuring grin.

"But hockey players have a bad reputation." She teased.

"Hey, what do you mean!" he asked.

"Well…" she said with a small smile beginning to form. "You're known for being two kinds of players!" she said with a little laugh.

"Take that back!" he said, pretending to be offended. He knew plenty of nice guys who played hockey, but plenty who lived up to that reputation too. "Take it baaaack!" he whined. "… or I'm going to tell the whole world about Cornelius!"

"You wouldn't dare." She exclaimed and placed the back of her hand to her forehead as she leaned her head back dramatically. "I'd be ruined!"

"You know what you have to do."

"Okay." She deflated. "I'm sure **not** _all_ hockey players are _players_ too." She admitted. A playful smile danced across her face, "Like OC!"

"Camilla!" Dave scolded her as if he were her father.

"Okay, okay, you're the nicest and best hockey player in the entire world!"

**To be continued... :)**


	2. Who Will It Be?

Jimmy had stepped out of the locker room to grab something from the vending machine down the hall. He'd been keeping a low profile lately. He'd just preferred to be alone a lot of the time. Ever since his mom died, he resented the sympathy he received from everyone. The _I'm sorry's _and _she's in a better place's_ just served as a constant reminder she was gone. It wasn't that he didn't miss her - he thought about her every day. He just wanted to be Jimmy Craig again, not that guy who lost his mom.

He stood in front of the machine looking at his options. He placed his thumb and index finger to his chin as he thought of what to choose. He was just about to select the fruit snacks when he heard someone behind him.

"Do you like the green apple kind?" a quiet female voice asked. He turned around to see a stunning brunette looking at him with wide eyes.

"Not really, my favorite are the strawberry." He said with a shrug. "These were in front though." He explained holding up the fruit snacks.

"Yeah, I don't know too many people who like green apple." She confirmed with a small grin. "But, I like all the flavors." Her eyes grew wide again as if she had an idea. "I could get the strawberry and we could trade?" she suggested. Jimmy looked at the girl for a moment. _Was she serious?_ He felt like he was back in an elementary school cafeteria.

"Okay…" He agreed, taking a step aside to let her by. She gave him another smile and pulled out her coin purse.

"Here you go!" she grinned while handing him the snack. He reached for the bag and she wouldn't let go. He gave her a strange look and she released it with a bigger smile. He gave her the green apple snack and nodded.

"Thanks." He said, looking at her curiously. "What are you doing here?" he wondered, not meaning to come off abrupt.

"I live here!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air dramatically.

"In a hockey rink?" he asked, more confused than ever.

She just laughed and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. He thought she was from another planet.

"If you say so…" he replied beginning to take a step back. "Take care." he said as he began walking back to the locker room.

"Sorry." She called out. He turned around to see her looking as if she'd done something wrong. "I was just trying to make you laugh." She admitted. "I was never that funny." She added.

Jimmy found himself beginning to chuckle at this, and before he knew it, he was laughing. He didn't know what came over him, but he just kept laughing and laughing more and more. He gripped at his stomach beginning to feel a little pain from laughing so much, but he couldn't stop. Next thing he knew she was beginning to giggle too. Before they could stop, they just continued to perpetuate each other's laughter by laughing at the other. For what seemed like the longest laughing fit ever, they finally came to a stop. He looked at her for a moment, wanting to say something, but realized he better get back.

"I needed that." He said with a smile as he ducked into the locker room.

"Hey Cox!" Silk said in greeting his friend after practice. He took a seat on the bench next to him.

"Hi Silky?" he said with a laugh. "What's up?"

"I was wondering what you were doing this weekend?" the hockey player asked with a hopeful look.

"Gee, I don't know Silk, but if you're going to ask me on a date I'm just going to tell you right now that I prefer blondes." Cox joked.

"Look…" Silky laughed. "Would you be willing to eat free food with a cute girl this Saturday?"

Cox eyed him suspiciously. "This isn't like the time you told me to show up in costume for that costume party that ended up NOT being a costume party?" he asked with an interrogative look.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Silk said with a look on innocence. "I'm just trying to present my good friend with an irresistible offer."

"What's the catch?" he asked.

"Well… Camilla's family is having her over for dinner, and they insist on her bringing a date. You don't _actually_ have to be her date, just pretend to." Silk confessed. He leaned in closer and gave his best smile. "So whaddya say?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "No problemo." Cox hoped he could snag some more of her cupcakes out the deal, but he would bring that up later.

"Thanks Cox you're the best!" he cheered, giving his friend a pat on the back. "Oh, and it's a costume dinner so be sure to wear something nice!" he added with a sincere smile.

Camilla waited in the hallway for practice to be over. Dave had asked her to come so she could officially meet her fake boyfriend for the weekend. She tried to imagine what it would be like if the boy with the blue eyes from earlier would be her pretend date. She laughed a little to herself just thinking about it. _ What was I thinking?_ After a couple of seconds, she began to feel a familiar sadness wash over her. At 22 years old she didn't know what it felt like to have a crush on someone who liked her back, what it felt like to hold another's hand, or even what it was like to be kissed. She was afraid she'd always be alone.

"Cami, are you okay?" Dave asked with concern. His usually happy friend seemed to look sad – an emotion he rarely saw from her.

She shook her head as if to remove the negative thoughts from her head and looked up at Dave and smiled. "I'm great!" she said trying to be as convincing as possible.

"I have good news!" he beamed. "You have a date!"

Camilla looked around curiously. "Is he invisible?" she laughed.

"Cox!" the hockey player shouted. "Come here!"

Camilla saw a familiar boy come out of the locker room towards them. He was tall and had sandy hair.

"Ralph, right?" she asked him. She made an effort to put faces to names and remembered Dave mentioning some of his friend before.

"That's right!" he smiled. "It's nice to actually meet you." He said, extending his arm out to shake her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine!" she said giving his hand a firm shake. He shook his head at her.

"That won't do!" he exclaimed. Before she could react, the boy had wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug, picking her feet off the ground. "Much better!" he declared as he set her back to the ground. Camilla raised her hand to exchange a high-five and he just looked at it.

"Don't leave me hanging Ralph!" she pleaded.

"Sorry!" he apologized, giving her the high-five with a laugh. He looked at Silk as if to say _is she always like this?_ Dave just nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders having been used to it. Camilla glanced down at her watch and bit her lower lip upon realizing the time.

"Well I hate to leave so soon, but I gotta go!" she explained. Camilla gave a small wave and left quickly.

After she was gone the rest of the players began filing out of the locker room one by one. Jimmy glanced around to see if the brown-eyed girl was still there, but wasn't surprised to see she had gone. He involuntarily let a small sigh and went home.

"So tell me something." Karen began as she handed Camilla a bottle of nail polish. They were hanging out that night for some much needed girl time. As cliché as it was, the girls were painting each other's nails. Cami never really had a girlfriend in high school, so it was nice to see what a sleepover was like.

"Sure." Camilla replied with a smile ready to answer.

"Have you ever, in your entire life, thought of Dave as more than a friend?" Her friend probed. Camilla was sort of caught off guard by the question.

"No…actually." She replied honestly. She hadn't ever been asked that before, and until it was brought to her attention, the idea of Dave being more than a friend was foreign. "I mean I have always thought he was good-looking and a wonderful guy, but I never thought _hey Cami you should date him!" _she added_._

"That is so weird!" Karen exclaimed as she shook her hand, hoping it would dry faster. "I couldn't just be friends with him, he's so cute." she admitted, blushing. "Well, are you excited for your date this weekend?"

"Well, I'm scared." Camilla replied truthfully. "It's not a real date and I don't want to upset my parents if they find out."


	3. Mamma Mia

"She actually spilled an entire plate of pasta onto her lap?" Dave asked, his jaw to the floor.

Ralph just nodded his head sympathetically.

"After knocking over her water glass into the lit candle?"

Cox shook his head, finding it hard to believe himself.

Dinner with Camilla's family had gone well. Appetizers were a breeze. They played a very convincing couple—sharing faux-memories and laughing at each other's jokes.

It wasn't until the spaghetti was brought out that things got _interesting._

Cami served a helping to Ralph and then herself. She sat down, neatly folded her skirt, and was just about to take a bite of noodles when her mother asked a question.

"So, tell us how you two met!"

She froze mid-bite. She looked to Ralph sweetly hoping for some kind of rescue, a smile plastered to her face to conceal her fear.

"Well," Ralph began, clearing his throat.

He reached to take Camilla's hand in his, but just as his fingertips grazed hers, she completely jumped from her seat knocking her glass into the candle before her. The flame caught to the tablecloth, so she scrambled to put it out by throwing pasta on it, but not before she knocked the entire plate onto her favorite skirt. She looked to the guests around her only to discover looks of horror.

"Oops."

* * *

"She's been known to do some pretty clumsy things, but-" he couldn't contain his laughter long enough to complete his sentence.

"We didn't even have dessert. Too dangerous." He suspected.

"Did her parents at least buy you two were a couple."

"They probably did until their daughter lit the table on fire at the thought of holding my hand."

"It happens to the best of us buddy." OC chimed in from the side.

"Yeah, I can't imagine any woman not wanting to hold those soft, gifted hands of yours, Coxy." Buzzy said half-jokingly.

"You guys are really great for my self-esteem, you know that." Ralph smiled cheerily before throwing his stick tape in their general direction.

* * *

"Caaaami." She heard on the other line.

"Caaaaami." He sung expectantly.

She knew this call was coming. Dave would know how the dinner went before she'd lie down to bed that Monday.

"Yes?" she replied, feigning cluelessness.

"How was dinner?"

She could just picture the half smile on his lips as he asked.

"Fine!" she chirped.

"So tell me, on a scale from one to not really, how easily does spaghetti come out of a skirt?"

"Why, you have one that needs washing?" she teased, avoiding the subject.

"You're unbelievable. Why didn't you tell me what happened?"

"It's silly." She admitted,

"Silly like Coxy's face this morning, or silly like you don't want to tell me."

"Silly like I've never held hands with a boy, so Ralph's gesture caught me off guard."

"I know that _silly._"

"Ugh." She sighed. "I just don't like saying it out loud to anyone."

"It's okay, Cami. I've never held hands with a boy either."

"Dave." She warned.

"Bye!" he replied merrily before hanging up abruptly.

* * *

People really stuck with Jimmy, so it's no surprise the brown-eyed girl he'd met only days earlier was on his mind.

He wasn't so quick to believe it was anything more than infatuation. After all, people really stuck with him. It just always worked that way.

She'd made him laugh a laugh he wasn't used to hearing these days. He could really use someone like that in his life, he decided. He racked his brain with a million different scenarios of how they'd meet again.

Maybe he'd be in a coffee shop, and she'd come over and put whipped cream on his nose.

Maybe he'd be driving along one day, and she'd put her nose up to the glass of the car beside him.

Or maybe, if he's really brazen, he'd just plant a kiss on her right there the next time he saw her.

* * *

The boys were playing an exhibition game that Wednesday. A scrimmage between the aspiring USA boys divided into two teams.

Everyone came out for warm ups circling the ice, and in Jimmy's case, finding a good spot to stretch. The crowd buzzed in, and seats began to fill. He could her Herb rattling off commands and Herbisms, as he liked to call them, at players as they passed the bench. He blocked out the noise, and leaned into his splits.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Silk glide over the glass opposite of him. His face lit up with a smile as he appeared to be waving to someone in the stands.

Curious to see who would put such a smile to his teammate's face, Jimmy looked to see the person on the receiving end of this grin.

He was met with a very beautiful, very familiar brown-eyed girl.

"Well, there goes just planting one on her." He sighed.


	4. Charmed, I'm sure

**A/N: Short chapters for now, but I have plans for longer ones in the future. Sorry it's taken me so long to update!**

Jimmy sat down for a quick bite to eat at a deli near the rink after practice. He found a table outside and began enjoying his sandwich. He thought about the week and how little progress he felt he's made. He didn't want to let anyone down. He wasn't _trying_ to give less than his best.

He set his cup down and heard a small clink on the ground beside him.

He looked to the pavement and saw a small silver bead. He glanced at the sidewalk, noticing a girl walking briskly.

He looked back at the dropped bead in his hand, realizing it was the charm to what he assumed was the girl's bracelet.

It was a pair of hockey skates dangling from their laces.

He rushed from his seat to return the charm to the woman. He tapped her shoulder gently and was whipped with a mouthful of brown hair that smelled like strawberries.

Her eyes grew wide with recognition.

"Hey…you!" she exclaimed as if she were talking to an old pal. She even added an awkward punch to his shoulder.

"Uh…hi!" he replied, proud of his ability to string together a sentence.

"I think you dropped this."

She glanced at her wrist adorned with a charm bracelet.

"Oh!" She called out, thumbing at the missing space in an array of other little charms.

"Of all charms!" she laughed. "The goalie finds the hockey skates."

Jimmy grinned like a fool, absent-mindedly letting his hand linger a few seconds too long as he placed the charm in her hand.

A rosy hue came to her cheeks as she pulled her hand away from his away to put the charm on her bracelet.

"_At least I didn't set anything on fire." _She thought with a smile.

He ran his fingers through his hair nervously, unsure of what to say. He was in a bit of shock himself.

He wasn't one to believe in fate or the old adage "everything happens for a reason." He lost his mom too soon, and he couldn't imagine what sort of purpose that served. It stung.

Seeing this girl, a girl he still didn't know the name of, was nothing more than coincidence, but he couldn't just let her walk away this time.

Before he could spit out the first thing that came to mind, he felt one hand gently touch his back and the other gripping his shoulders.

He gave her a confused look, but was only met with grin.

"Back straight, shoulders forward, chin up." She said, tapping his chin to raise it slightly.

He raised an eyebrow, still missing the meaning of all of this.

"You, quite literally, look down. I can only believe you _feel _down too."

"I guess I'm upset my team lost the scrimmage." He admitted half-truthfully, remembering she had been there too.

She gave him a reassuring smile.

"You're already an American hero." She said sincerely. "You're saving a damsel in distress by returning her charm!" she added, lifting her wrist to make a point.

He shrugged his shoulder humbly. "Who are you?" he asked, hoping she didn't take it as abruptly as it came out.

"Camilla." She beamed.

Too caught up in her dimples, he almost forgot to respond.

"Jimmy." He added. "Camilla, may I see you again?"

"Yes." She nodded enthusiastically.

He chuckled.

She pulled out a pen and bit her lower lip inquisitively.

"_She must need paper." _He thought.

Without thinking he offered his hand.

She looked at it curiously for a moment.

Camilla wrote her phone number neatly and flashed one more smile before turning on her heel to walk away.

"Oh, and Jimmy!" she called out.

He pulled his gaze away from his hand and tried to subdue his goofy grin.

"Yeah?"

"What is life without goals? And what is a goal without a goalie?"

He wasn't sure if it was some sort of riddle, but judging by the quick turn of her heel back to her route, he could only assume it was not something he needed to answer.

He laughed to himself not sure what to make of this odd girl.

But one thing was for certain—he would get to see her again.


End file.
